RSSS 315: Final Exam Study Guide (Fall 2007)Optional Review Session on Tuesday, November 11, at 5pm in Education 353.

Questions on films

Company of Wolves (dir. Neil Jordan)

In what parts of the film do the wolf packs play a role?

How does Rosaleen handle the handsome man/wolf?

What are Grandmother’s two major warnings?

Does Rosaleen’s mother add to/change either one of these warnings?

List and describe the transformations in the film

Describe the different images of a werewolf the film offers.

Who wrote the story the film is based on?

How does the film compare with the various "Little Red Riding Hood" accounts we discussed in class (Perrault, Brothers Grimm, "Needles and Pins" or any version you are familiar with).

American Werewolf in London: events, plot developments, relationship with Alex, with friend Jack, with family. Other characters?

What is special about this werewolf story?

Most critics commented on the films effective use of humor. How did the director use humor? (Think of examples.)

Reading

"Sanguinarius"
Who wrote this story? Where and when is it set? Who is the central character? How is the story narrated? Is it a vampire story? (Argue for it and against it.)

"A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia"
Who wrote this story? Describe the setting for the action. What actually happens in the story? How would you describe the werewolves in this story?

General questions

Rice’s vampires: what is special (or distinctive) about them? How do they differ from the folklore vampires? Stoker's Dracula?

Allegory and other ways of understanding that a vampire is not a vampire, a werewolf is not a werewolf: think about all the stories you've read and films you've seen. Which works lend themselves more easily to interpretations that have little to do with vampires and werewolves as supernatural creatures.

In folklore and literary film treatments:

What are the basic werewolf killer tools? The basic vampire killer tools? If you are a vampire killer, when and where do you look for vampires? Explain; use examples.

Think about hunger, thirst, liquids, desiccation; what is the connection with werewolves and vampires?

Think about all the rituals, sayings, herbs, and devices for dealing with and dispatching werewolves and vampires.

List all the magic, magical signs, herbs, words, devices, and objects that relate to lycanthropy and vampirism.

Think about the folk legends and early testimonies and how vampires and werewolves are represented. Then compare with literary and film treatments: what are the big differences? What do the accounts generally have in common? Here is a list of most of the works you have studied.